LAAM - THE ARABIC LETTER PART 2

INTRODUCTION

The Arabic letter Laam () is equivalent to the letter 'L' in the English alphabet. The position of the letter Laam () in the normal Arabic character set is 23. In the numerical character set, Abjad, Laam () is the 12th Letter with a numerical value of 30. This article is about the spiritual meaning of the letter Laam ().

THE LETTER LAAM PART 2

There is one quality in the Letter Laam () that is not found in any other Arabic Letter. The Letter Laam () when written as a word becomes Laam Alif Meem (). The Letter Laam as a word contains the Letters Alif () and Meem (). No other Arabic Letter when written as a word contains both Alif () and Meem ().

There are only 3 Arabic Letters when written as words (not counting the Letter Laam () itself) which contain the Letter Laam (). These are:

Alif () =

Dal () =

Zal () =

Since the numerical value of the Letter Laam () is 30, it is basically connected with the number 3. Therefore the Letter Laam ( = 30) is connected to the Letter Jeem ( = 3) and also to the Letter Sheen (= 300). That is the reason behind the numerical values in the Abjad format. To show connections between Letters. How is that connected with the Quran ?

CHAPTERS OF THE QURAN

There are 3 Chapters named with the initial Letter Jeem ( = 3)

1 Chapter 45 - Jaasiyat 37 verses
2 Chapter 62 - Jumaa 11 verses
3 Chapter 72 - Jinn 28 verses

There are 3 Chapters named with the initial Letter Laam ( = 30)

1 Chapter 31 - Luqman 31 verses
2 Chapter 92 - Layl 21 verses
3 Chapter 111 - Lahab 5 verses

There are 3 Chapters named with the initial Letter Sheen (= 300)

1 Chapter 26 - Shuaara 227 verses
2 Chapter 42 - Shura 53 verses
3 Chapter 91 - Shams 15 verses

And speaking of 3 Chapters each for 3 Letters, let us go back to the 3 Letters Alif Laam Meem...

ALIF LAAM MEEM

Our Guidance, the Quran starts with these 3 Muqattaat Letters - Alif Laam Meem.

The majority of human beings are by nature prone to evil, the exception being the Messengers () of Allah. Evil is one of the characteristics of the human soul. And the Quran has been given to us to rectify that. The Quran also confirms evil characteristic of the human soul as follows:

The soul which is prone to evil is called Nafs Ammarah. Nafs Ammarah is a destructive soul. It tries and destroys the person through making the person restless and reckless.

Then there is the other kind of soul which is always 'accusing'. This kind of soul is called Nafs Lawwamah. It whispers Shaytan's (satanic) thoughts. This kind of soul is restless. The person may not carry out the evil suggestions of Shaytan but the soul nevertheless makes the person restless.

And finally there is a third kind of soul which is peaceful. This kind of soul is called Nafs Mutmainnah. It belongs to the Messengers () of Allah and to the pious people.

The interesting thing about all this is the fact that Nafs Ammarah the reckless soul can be changed to the Nafs Lawwamah the restless soul. And then the Nafs Lawwamah can be changed to Nafs Mutmainnah the PEACEFUL soul. How ?

By following the Guidance in the Quran. Alif Laam Meem. Meem is the Mutmainnah PEACEFUL soul.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SOULS

If we look at the above 3 Chapter numbers we find that the difference between the quotation of Nafs Lawwamah and Nafs Ammarah is :

75 - 12 = 63 which is 6 + 3 = 9 = .

This is where most of us fit in. We are complete (9) but we do not know how to deal with the Nafs Lawwamah.

The difference between the quotation of Nafs Mutmainnah and Nafs Lawwamah is :

89 - 75 = 14 which is 1 + 4 = 5 = .

Here we have to follow the Hidayat laid down in the Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammadto arrive at Nafs Mutmainnah.

If we add the above answers 5 and 9 we get 14 which points us to the 14 Letters of Muqattaat.

NOW FOR SOME SUMS

The numerical value of Alif (= 1) + Laam (= 30) + Meem ( = 40) = 71.

Since the Quran did not start with:

We are Qaf () 100 - 71 (Numerical value of Alif Laam Meem) = 29 short of Guidance. That is Laam (= 30) - Alif ( = 1) = 29.

In Laam () Part 1 it was stated that the letter Laam () is always preceded by the Letter Alif (). Therefore we must consider these two Letters together.

Alif () + Laam () = 31 and there are 13 occurrences. This is the 'mirror' effect. If we apply the 'mirror' effect to the number 29 which we are short of, we get 92. And 92 is a special number. See the article on the Letter Toin () for explanation.

Another way of looking at it is from the section CHAPTERS OF THE QURAN in this article. The Letter Laam () is between the Letters Jeem () and Sheen () in the Abjad format in terms of numerical values. The middle Chapter that is named with the initial Letter Laam () is Layl. If we look at the Chapter number for Layl, it is 92.

The answer is that Muhammadwas the one who fulfilled that gap between Qaf and Alif Laam Meem. Muhammad has been sent as the Guide on the Guidance. Muhammad is the one who understood the Guidance. Darood and Salaam on Muhammad

THE FOUR MAIN ANGELS

The four main angels who are connected with the affairs of the earth are :

IsrafeeL, JibraeeL, MikaeeL and AzraeeL. The interesting thing to note here is that their names end with the Letter Laam (). These four angels are in charge of numerous other angels who carry out the necessary tasks on earth under their command.

If we look at the names of the four main angels we find that:

Israfeel ()'s name starts with the Letter Alif ()

Jibraeel ()'s name starts with the Letter Jeem ()

Mikaeel ()'s name starts with the Letter Meem ()

Azraeel ()'s name starts with the Letter Ayn ()

If we add the numerical values of the initial Letters of these 4 angels we get:

Alif ( = 1) + Jeem ( = 3) + Meem ( = 40) + Ayn ( = 70) = 114

That is exactly equal to the number of chapters in the Holy Quran.

May Allah and His Rasool Guide us to attain Nafs Mutmainnah. Ameen.